Trading Boldin, losing Pitta proved costly for Ravens

By By Matt Zenitz and Times Staff Writer

Dec 31, 2013 | 7:00 PM

OWINGS MILLS - The Ravens were able to replace most of the players they either lost or parted ways with last winter and spring.They lost outside linebacker Paul Kruger, but they replaced him with Elvis Dumervil. They lost inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, but they got Daryl Smith. They lost cornerback Cary Williams, but Jimmy Smith stepped up and became probably an even higher level starter than Williams was.The list goes on.Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was really the one player that Baltimore wasn't able to replace. It's impossible to predict what Boldin would have done had Baltimore not traded him, but it's safe to say based on what Boldin has done with the San Francisco 49ers that he could have made a significant difference for a Ravens passing game that struggled without him."Defensively, we were able to replace those guys, and it showed up in the way we performed on defense," coach John Harbaugh said. "We probably weren't able to do that quite the same way with Anquan unfortunately."Part of the reason that the Ravens had as much trouble replacing Boldin as they did was because tight end Dennis Pitta missed most of the season with a hip injury.Pitta and his versatility were big reasons why Baltimore felt comfortable trading Boldin to clear up room under the salary cap."But I don't know that we necessarily had a go-to guy in the slot that was really a good answer to replace Dennis when he got hurt," Harbaugh said.Baltimore signed tight end Dallas Clark and wide receiver Brandon Stokley after Pitta got hurt, but neither were anywhere near the same caliber of weapon as Boldin or Pitta.Wide receiver Torrey Smith did have 1,128 yards, but defenses were able to focus more attention on him during the season without a threat like Boldin on the other side of the field, and Smith was held to three catches or less in six of the Ravens' final 11 games.Meanwhile, Flacco finished the year with more interceptions (22) than touchdowns (19) and finished with the lowest quarterback rating of his career (73.1).Boldin is 33 and had 921 yards or less during his three seasons with Baltimore, so maybe the Ravens thought an aging Boldin wasn't worth the $6 million base salary he was due, especially with a player like Pitta in the mix. But no Ravens wide receiver besides Smith had more than 521 yards. Boldin had 1,179 yards and seven touchdowns on 85 catches during the regular season for the 49ers."But you can't look back," Harbaugh said. "I'm talking to the fans here. I'm watching guys that left here and watching them make plays for other teams. Of course, I'm thinking the same thing that you're thinking, 'Man, it'd be great if he was making that play for our team.'"It's human nature [that] you feel that way about it. ... But you've just got to do the best you can in this salary cap era of being the strongest team you can for the money that you're allotted, and hopefully it works out. That's really the reality of it."